The way that Americans feel about guns has undergone a sudden and unexpected
change since the attacks of 9-11. Regulatory agencies, gun retailers,
and safety instructors all report a sharp increase in activity. Many purchasers
are women, first-time buyers, and those who previously held anti-gun views.

Societal issues normally undergo gradual, pendulum-like swings, but this
one is changing with astounding speed. It took roughly forty years for
the gun control movement to convince a large portion of the population
that guns caused violence and were too dangerous for ordinary citizens
to possess. It has taken less than one year for the tide to change.

The most obvious reasons for this rapid transformation are directly related
to the terrorist attacks. For example, the almost unanimous call for military
action makes it seem hypocritical to label guns as evil instruments when
we are asking our military to wield them on our behalf.

The fact that the attacks were carried out without a single gun was a
wake-up call to even the most ardent anti-gun activists. While they were
concentrating on the dangers of guns, they ignored the reality that people
with evil intent are the real threat.

Leftist filmmaker Michael Moore, in the process of finishing an anti-gun
documentary, made this dramatic statement that probably expresses the
feelings of many at his end of the political spectrum:

"This started out as a documentary on gun violence in America, but
the largest mass murder in our history was just committed -- without the
use of a single gun! Not a single bullet fired!... I can't stop thinking
about this. A thousand gun control laws would not have prevented this
massacre. What am I doing?"

I
believe this widespread attitude adjustment would have been impossible
if not for the results of the last presidential election. Political analysts
declared that support for tougher gun control laws lost the election for
Al Gore. Although this is probably an exaggeration, Democratic politicians
fled from the issue as if it were the kiss of death.

Liberal voters were free to rethink their position on guns without feeling
disloyal to their party. They began to notice the failure of gun control
laws and "gun free zones" in other countries, as well as in
various states and cities. They started reading articles by Prof. John
Lott, author of "More Guns, Less Crime." Doubts developed about
the politically correct view of gun ownership. These doubts suddenly fit
in with the new picture created on 9-11.

As soon as details of the box cutter hijackings became public, millions
of people shared a single thought. These attacks never would have succeeded
if a single person with a handgun and a cool head had been in the right
place at the right time.

The ease with which terrorists eluded our security measures made us all
aware of how vulnerable we are. Terrorists have the luxury of striking
at a time and place of their choosing, while we must defend all possible
targets at all times. The next attack could easily disable large sections
of the electric power grid, resulting in extended blackouts and a breakdown
in social order.

Today's neophyte gun buyers are probably less concerned with fighting
terrorists than with a scenario similar to the last round of riots in
Los Angeles during which police abandoned large areas of the city. In
the resulting rush to local gun stores, many were dismayed at the long
waiting period required before they could take delivery of a firearm that
would allow them to protect their families.

The anti-gun lobby would like us to believe that new gun buyers are acting
out of blind fear, but most are undergoing a sober and thoughtful re-evaluation
that began prior to the attacks. Before 9-11, many people were still in
denial about their own vulnerability to danger. It was easy to believe
that we could always dial 911 and instantly summon armed officers to our
rescue.

The lesson that many Americans have taken from this experience is that
we should each take more responsibility for our own safety. Seeing so
many innocent lives snuffed out without warning has injected a harsh dose
of reality and relieved us of some of our idealistic innocence.

Terrorists
exploit America's gun phobia by Dr. Michael S. Brown (September
24, 2001)
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, a lot of people are angry
that men with box cutters managed to hijack airplanes. That was
a result of America's irrational fear of gun owners, says Dr. Michael
S. Brown